Teaching Memorial Day With the National Mall: John Logan, Decoration Day and Designing a Memorial

Memorial Day weekend is busy on the National Mall — a chance to honor those who gave their lives for their country. Many of the park's sites remember people who served, and one remembers the man credited with proclaiming Memorial Day.

Logan Circle

The statue of General John Logan in Logan Circle, Washington, D.C. NPS

Logan Circle lies about 1.2 miles northeast of the Washington Monument. At its center stands a statue of General John Logan, a politician and Civil War officer who became head of the Grand Army of the Republic, the fraternal organization of Civil War veterans.

In that role, in May 1868, Logan issued General Orders No. 11, setting aside May 30, 1868, "for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion."

Today Memorial Day honors everyone who has died for the country, not just the Civil War dead.

More: Ranger Jenny's video Memorial Day at Logan Circle and the article John Logan: War Hero, Public Servant, Founder of Memorial Day.

Decoration Day

General James A. Garfield. Brady-Handy photograph collection, Library of Congress

The holiday was first called Decoration Day. On the first one, May 30, 1868, Ohio congressman and Civil War veteran James A. Garfield spoke at Arlington National Cemetery, explaining what the day meant and why it should be kept. Read his speech: First Official National Decoration Day.

Arlington National Cemetery lies across the Potomac from the Mall; from the back of the Lincoln Memorial you can see it and Arlington House.

Memorial Day in the classroom

The Mall's war memorials lend themselves to projects that cross subjects:

• English: picture books, novels or diaries tied to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial or the Vietnam War.
• History: visit the memorials in person or virtually to connect lessons to the conflicts they honor.
• Symbolism: look at pictures of the memorials and talk about how their elements help us remember.
• Design a memorial — an end-of-year project across subjects: choose a person or event from social studies, write the text for its sign or brochure in English, and use math to build a scale model.

Rangers spend many May days touring the memorials with students, and see which details catch their attention and prompt questions. Personal stories often help students connect — such as Ranger Paul's family story, Honoring Service and Sacrifice.

Sources

Based on "NAMA Notebook: Memorial Day," National Mall and Memorial Parks, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain.